ATLANTA — April 5, 2023 — The Atlanta Decorative Arts Center (ADAC) is thrilled to announce this year’s finalists for the 2023 Southeast Designers and Architect of the Year Awards (SEDY). The 26 finalists represent the most creative and innovative minds in the business across the fields of residential design, contract design and architecture. Entries were received from across the Southeast, spanning nine states including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. The featured finalists were selected by an esteemed panel of top industry professionals including VERANDA Editor-in-Chief Steele Marcoux, Ike Baker Velten founder John Ike and award-winning designer, Jean Liu, principal at Jean Liu Design, LLC.
The 2023 Southeast Designers and Architect of the Year Awards return to ADAC’s spring market, DESIGN ADAC, co-sponsored by VERANDA, taking place April 18-20, where winners will be announced at a private awards gala on Thursday, April 20. All are welcome to join ADAC and VERANDA to meet and celebrate the 2023 finalists at R HUGHES in Suite 320 at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 19. Media interested in attending the finalists meet-and-greet can RSVP to rsvp@360media.net.
“This year, we are thrilled to have a record-breaking number of first-time finalists,” said Katie Miner, general manager of ADAC. “As the Southeast Designers and Architect of the Year Awards continue to grow, I’m both proud and thrilled at the amazing talent we have and continue to discover throughout the Southeast. It truly is a wonderful celebration for design in the region.”
The 2023 Finalists for Residential, Contract and Architecture include:
Residential Design Finalists
- Alecia Stevens Interiors | Charleston, S.C.
- Atelier Davis | Atlanta
- Brad Ramsey Interiors | Nashville, Tenn.
- Christy Dillard Kratzer of CDK Interior Design | Atlanta
- David Frazier | West Point, Ga.
- Lathem Gordon & Cate Dunning of GordonDunning | Atlanta
- Jason Arnold Interiors | Nashville, TN
- Kristin Kong of K Kong Designs | Atlanta
- Laura W. Jenkins Interiors | Atlanta
- Lauren DeLoach Interiors | Atlanta
- Melanie Turner Interiors | Atlanta
- William Peace of Peace Design | Atlanta
- Bronwyn Ford of Pursley Dixon Ford Interior Design | Charlotte, N.C.
- Rachel Halvorson Designs | Nashville
- Shirlene Brooks of Re:View Design | Franklin, N.C.
- Robin Rains Interior Design | Nashville
- Aliesha Porto of Stevie Interiors | Milton, Ga.
Contract Design Finalists
- Harris Interiors | Atlanta
- William Peace of Peace Design | Atlanta
- Smith Hanes Studio | Atlanta
- Square Feet Studio | Atlanta
Architecture Finalists
- Chris Reebals of Christopher Architecture & Interiors | Birmingham, Ala.
- Herlong Architects | Sullivan’s Island, S.C.
- Historical Concepts | Atlanta
- Richard & Lynielle Long of Long & Long Design, Inc. | Homewood, Ala.
- Pursley Dixon Architecture | Charlotte
- Summerour Architects | Atlanta
“We’re extremely grateful to this year‘s incredible panel of judges. Their job selecting the 2023 finalists amongst all the wonderfully creative and qualified submissions was a daunting exercise,” added Miner. “We can’t thank them enough for their expertise, participation, leadership and guidance.”
About the 2023 SEDY Judges Panel
John Ike, Ike Baker Velten, Founder
John Ike has been practicing architecture and design for more than four decades. Ike’s design aesthetic is influenced by his traveling such as the legacy and regional inflections he sees on these trips, particularly the Italian and Scandinavian precedents. Ike’s first job was working for Robert A.M. Stern, under whom he had studied for his Master of Architecture degree at the Graduate School of Architecture at Columbia University. He received his Bachelor of Arts in biochemistry from Colorado College. He later co-founded Ike Kligerman Barkley in 1989 and remained with the firm until its closure in 2022. During his time with Ike Kligerman Barkley, he published two books with Monacelli Press, ‘Houses” and “The New Shingled House.” The firm received numerous awards ranging from the AIA New York Chapter Award, the DDB Stars of Design Award, the ICAA Julia Morgan Award, and the ICAA Stanford White Award, as well as being in the AD100 and Elle Decor A-List. Ike will release his third book in May 2023 titled “9 Houses / 9 Stories” (Vendome) which explores and celebrates the inextricable bond between the architect and those who implement his vision, a give-and-take that results in singularly designed residences. Ike is interested in interior design and collaborated on the glass furniture line Chroma D with photographer Irene Mamiye. In his spare time, he works on his mid-century modern residences in New Jersey and San Diego and his loft in Oddfellows Hall, a historic 19th-century ceremonial lodge in Brooklin, Maine.
Jean Liu, Jean Liu Design LLC
Jean Liu Design, LLC was established in 2007 as a full-service interior design firm, specializing in high-end residential and commercial projects. Since then, the firm has grown to become a party of five, all of whom would do almost anything for a pretty picture – of interiors, that is. They are a group of design aficionados whose talent, experience, and training make us uniquely qualified to work alongside clients, builders, and architects on all aspects of interior design, whether it is new construction, historical renovation, space planning, furniture sourcing, or staging. Known for creating modern, edited, comfortable, and inspired spaces that help their clients translate their vision and lifestyle into a place they can call home. Their work has been featured in House Beautiful, Traditional Home, Town & Country, Architectural Digest, and The Wall Street Journal.
Steele Marcoux, Veranda Editor-in Chief
Steele Marcoux’s design education started during her childhood in Atlanta, where she spent many afternoons with her artist mother browsing through galleries, antiques stores, and fabric showrooms. After graduating from Williams College, where Marcoux studied art history and played on the varsity tennis team, she worked in Washington, DC as a reporter before returning to the South to pursue a Master of Arts in American history at the University of Alabama. She is a veteran of the shelter publishing industry, having served as editor of Coastal Living, Executive Editor and Style Director of Country Living, and Design Editor at Southern Living and Coastal Living. Marcoux serves on the board of directors for the Alabama School of Fine Arts in Birmingham, where she lives with her husband, two sons, and dog Sawyer.
Posted: April 5, 2023
Source: The Atlanta Decorative Arts Center (ADAC)
